With DePetro out of the way, Howie Carr is in the crosshairs
Entrercom-owned Boston radio station WRKO fired its late-morning host John DePetro yesterday for having referred to the Green Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross as a “fat lesbian” during one of his broadcasts. DePetro allegedly had somewhat weak ratings according to the Boston Globe.
In an editorial today the Boston Herald praises the station for the move, calling it “a small victory for civility.”
The Herald’s most popular columnist is Howie Carr, who rarely backs away from an opportunity to take shots at people who are homosexual. Throw in the fact that Mr. Carr has used his afternoon drivetime show on WRKO to more or less openly criticize the Herald for some of its endorsements and it’s hard not to see the editorial on DePetro as a shot at him. Mr. Carr and the Herald editorialists also diverge sharply on illegal immigration: The Herald editorialists think uneducated minimum-wage earning illegal aliens are crucial for Massachusetts’ economy, while Mr. Carr wants them tossed out of the country.
Over the past few days of speculation over whether the New York Times Co. would a consider a bid on the Boston Globe by a group of Boston Irish bigshots, it was suggested that the potential new owners of the Globe would consider some forms of co-operation with the Herald. One of the group’s lead investors, Jack Connors, had an op-ed in the Boston Globe on October 20 in which he argued for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities for illegal aliens. Acting as consultant for the group is, reportedly, Mike Barnicle, a former Boston Globe columnist who Mr. Carr occasionally broadsides during his shows.
It could well be that Mr. Carr’s many and quite powerful enemies will end up driving him out of both the Herald and WRKO in the name of civility.
Then maybe they can make “Zip” Civility Ombudsman for all Boston media.
